Introduction

What is TinkerTool System 5?

TinkerTool System 5 is a collection of system utilities assisting you in performing advanced administration tasks on Apple Macintosh computers. All functions can be controlled from one single program which acts as general toolbox and First Aid assistant. This includes

built-in maintenance features of macOS, usually not visible on the graphical user interface,

extended file operations, not available in the macOS Finder,

the possibility to access advanced system settings which are not visible in System Preferences,

genuine and unique features of TinkerTool System, designed to resolve typical real-world problems of administrators and to fix the effects of certain defects (“bugs”) in the operating system,

features to protect your privacy,

functions to collect advanced information about the hardware, operating system, and applications.

TinkerTool System knows macOS very well. It makes use of a self-adapting user interface which automatically adjusts to the computer model and to the version of macOS you are running. All options available in the current situation are accessible via “panes,” very similar to the techniques you already know from the System Preferences application.

In the remainder of this manual, we will use the designation “TinkerTool System” for simplicity, omitting the “5.” However, there are in fact four different product generations with slightly different application names.

TinkerTool System 5: for macOS 10.12 Sierra and macOS 10.13 High Sierra

TinkerTool System 6: for macOS 10.14 Mojave and later

These variants constitute completely separate product lines with different licenses, registrations, and icons.

TinkerTool System is a “real” macOS application and does not make use of unsafe scripting mechanisms. The program follows Apple’s latest security guidelines for macOS. The graphical user interface is strictly separated from the operational core which is capable of performing privileged system operations. This core is monitored by macOS’s security subsystem which is responsible for permitting or denying each single operation and to ask the user for authentication if necessary. TinkerTool System itself never asks for user passwords, making sure that your credentials cannot be intercepted by malicious user programs. Administrators of large system installations can fine-tune the security policy of TinkerTool System, for example by giving different classes of administrator groups different permissions to perform certain operations. In order to do this, TinkerTool System integrates seamlessly into the authorization policy database of macOS.

When resolving typical system problems, TinkerTool System attempts to follow Apple’s official support guidelines. This does not mean that TinkerTool System will execute a certain troubleshooting procedure word by word. For example, the program will not simulate the entry of terminal commands if Apple lists them in step-by-step troubleshooting instructions. However, TinkerTool System will execute direct internal commands which will have the exact same effects. Users can press a special help button in TinkerTool System to check whether Apple offers official documents about certain system problems in their database. If such documentation is available, the user can click one or more Internet links to open up-to-the-minute information about the problem in question.

About the different functional areas of TinkerTool System 5

The features of TinkerTool System are divided into four separate areas:

System Maintenance: features to assist administrators in typical troubleshooting operations

File Operations: features to work with advanced operations on files, permissions, and applications

System Settings: controls to access system-wide settings built into macOS

User Settings: features for troubleshooting and maintenance operations which apply to the current user account only.

If you are using the sister application TinkerTool in addition to TinkerTool System, you will be free to integrate the panes of TinkerTool directly into the control window of TinkerTool System. This way you can have the functionality of both applications under one single roof and you no longer need to start the two programs separately. (Both applications must remain present for this to work, however.) TinkerTool’s panes will also appear in the section User Settings.

System Requirements

To use TinkerTool System 5, you need an Apple computer which has the following operating system installed:

macOS 10.12 Sierra

macOS 10.13 High Sierra

It is recommended to update macOS to the latest version which is available from Apple. This can be done using the Automatic Software Update feature of the operating system.